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The technical professional's complete guide to digital photography: from taking the photo to enhancing it to printing or posting it online.
° Covers the complete photography lifecycle, including taking the shot, manipulating the image with Adobe Photoshop Elements, and outputting the image to print or screen
° Shows how to transfer traditional photographic skills, such as lighting and composition, to the digital realm
° Contains a special "white balance card" produced by the authors - a $65 value
The Fastest Route to Mastering Digital Photography!
Want to create truly great digital images? Maybe you're moving to a digital camera for the first time. Maybe you've used one for years. Either way, this book's for you!
You'll learn through dozens of outstanding full-color examples, crafted for simplicity and easy to adapt to your own images. Need specific solutions? This book's modular, visual, high-efficiency format delivers them instantly. Renowned digital imaging expert Joseph T. Jaynes and long-time professional photographer Rip Noel draw on their remarkable experience to cover the entire process and offer tips you won't find anywhere else. You'll learn how to plan perfect lighting and composition, capture the best possible image, improve it with Adobe Photoshop or Elements, reproduce it superbly--electronically and in print--and manage your workflow and content more efficiently than ever before.
No other digital photography guide covers this much, this well, this quickly. Dig in, get started, and get results!
BONUS: Includes an exclusive dynamic white balance card--a $65 value...your best tool for getting the right color in any light! This single card replaces a whole set of old-style white balance cards.
Spring Into... is a new series of fast-paced tutorials from Addison-Wesley. Each book in the series is designed to bring you up to speed quickly. Complex topics and technologies are reduced to their core components, and each component is treated with remarkable efficiency in short, easy-to-follow segments. Just the information you need to begin working...now! And because the books are example-rich and easy to navigate, you'll find that they make great on-the-job references after you've mastered the basics.
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Preface.
Introduction.
I. CAPTURE THE PERFECT IMAGE.
1. Let There Be Light.
Qualities of Light
Light Controls Shape
Reflected Light: A Bit of Geometry
Lighting a Cube
Cube Examples
Lighting a Sphere
Sphere Examples
Lighting a Cylinder or Cone
Cylinder and Cone Examples
Softbox Lightbanks
Light Controls Shape: Wrap-Up
Portraits, with and without Shape
Reflective Surfaces: Automobile
Reflective Surfaces: Jewelry
Reflective Surfaces: Shiny Metal and Fabric
Build Your Own Scrim
Light Controls Color
The Temperature of Color
Color Magic
White Balance Perfection
White Balance Calibration Card
White Balance Creativity
White Balance Examples
Physical Filters
Software Filters
Underwater Photography
Summary
2. Compose It.
Visual Push-Ups
Design Basics: Line
Design Basics: Shape and Form
Design Basics: Pattern
Design Basics: Texture
Design Basics: Color
The Golden Section
The Rule of Thirds
The Power Points
Control the Frame
Fill the Frame
Shot within a Shot
The Power of Diagonals
The Power of Eyes
The Power of Contrast
The Power of Focus
Spot Focus and Manual Focus
A More Interesting Angle
Frame within a Frame
The Power of Altered Perspective
The Power of the Foreground
Get Vertical
Bring It Into Balance
Summary
3. Expose It.
Measure the Light
Set the Exposure
Automatic Exposure Mode
Aperture Priority
Aperture Priority Examples
Shutter Priority
Shutter Priority Example
Manual Exposure
Dealing with Contrast Extremes
Contrast Extremes Examples
Digital ISO Equivalency
Digital File Formats
Infrared Imaging
Rear Curtain Synch
The Histogram
Summary
II. UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE COLOR.
4. Color Fundamentals.
A Simple Test
RGB Versus CMYK
Digital Color: 256 Choices for "Reality"
Color Spaces and Gamuts
Device-Independent Color Spaces
ICC and ICC Profiles
Creating ICC Profiles
Summary
5. Calibrate and Profile Your Monitor.
Display Types
Viewing Environment and Ambient Lighting
Profiling Setup
Profiling Process
Profiling a Projector
Summary
6. Profile Your Scanner.
Scanner Types
Standard Scanner Targets
Profiling Setup
Profiling Process: Scan Target
Profiling Process: Create Profile
Summary
7. Profile Your Printer, Paper, and Ink.
Printer Types
Paper
Ink
Profiling Process: Setup
Profiling Process: Print Target
Profiling Process: Scan Target
Profiling Process: Service Bureaus
Dealing with PIM
Commercial Printing
Summary
III. OPTIMIZE YOUR IMAGES.
8. Optimize for the Screen.
Basic RAW Adjustments: Introduction
Basic RAW Adjustments: Color Temperature
Basic RAW Adjustments: Tint
Basic RAW Adjustments: Exposure
Basic RAW Adjustments: Shadows
Basic RAW Adjustments: Brightness and Contrast
Basic RAW Adjustments: Saturation
Further Optimization: Introduction
Setting Levels
Color Depth: 8 Bits Versus 16 Bits
Using the Curves Tool to Adjust Colors
Adjusting Colors without Using Curves
Applying Unsharp Masking
Targeting PCs Versus Macs
Targeting a TV
Targeting the Web
Summary
9. Optimize for Print.
Personal Printing: Introduction
Personal Printing: Photoshop Elements
Personal Printing: Photoshop, Phase 1
Personal Printing: Photoshop, Phase 2
Local and Online Printing Services
Color RIP Software
Summary
10. Fix Specific Problems.
Image-Editing Basics
Removing Red Eye
Removing Blemishes: Healing Brush
Removing Blemishes: Clone Stamp
Repairing Keystoning: Narrow to Wide
Repairing Keystoning: Wide to Narrow
Upsizing Images
Reducing Digital Noise
Eliminating Banding in Prints
Adding Selective (Limited) Focus
Creating a Black and White Effect
Replacing the Sky
Summary
IV. OPTIMIZE YOUR WORKFLOW.
11. Manage Your Assets.
Buying Good Media
Shooting and Archiving
Adopting a Naming Scheme
Keywording Your Images
Using EXIF and Other Image Metadata
Protecting Your Images
Adding Audio Attachments
Digital Asset Management Tools
Summary
12. Think Digitally.
A Personal Reflection (Rip Noël)
Master Your Tools
Data Longevity
There's No Free Lunch: Get the Exposure Right
Digital Versus Film: The Good News
Digital Versus Film: The Bad News
CCDs and Focal Length
Winning the Digital Rat Race
Expanding Your Vision
It's Your Turn
Appendix A. Digital Gear Bags.
Serious Amateur Gear Bag
Pro Gear Bag: Camera and Containers
Pro Gear Bag: Strobe and Constant Lights
Pro Gear Bag: Lighting Modifiers
Pro Gear Bag: Grip and Support
Pro Gear Bag: Computer Hardware and Software
Growth Path 1: Portraits and People
Growth Path 2: Nature and Landscapes
Growth Path 3: Editorial and Action
Index.
Digital photography is just a fad. The images aren't as good as real photographs shot on film and printed with chemicals the way God intended. If you want to be a real photographer, you should drop this book like a spent flashbulb and stick with film. It was good enough for Alfred Stieglitz and Ansel Adams, and look how far they got. It was good enough for your dad at the Grand Canyon, for Pete's sake! What's with you kids today? Would you give all this digital foolishness a rest? Please? [We interrupt this Preface to give the authors a moment to recapture control of their manuscript. ... hhmmphh ... grrrrgnn ... aacccckk! ... OK, that's better. Let's try that opening again.] Digital photography is more than just the future of photography. It's hands down the best way to take photographs for any and every conceivable purpose today. Film photography was revolutionary and powerful, and created a medium for artistic expression that stood the art establishment on its head. Digital photography continues the revolution, putting even more creative power into the hands of even more people that film photography ever could. Our hope in writing this book is to stir up some creative fervor among the masses. Are you ready to be stirred?
Who Should Read This Book?Everyone on the planet should read this book. We've written this book for people who have a passion for photography and who want to improve their artistic sensibilities and skills using the exciting tools that digital photography provides. We don't expect you to be an expert or a prodigy or a guru. We do expect you to care about making great photographs. Are you someone who's owned a camera for years and used it to shoot generally disappointing shots of friends and family that you really wish were better? (The shots, not your friends and family.) That lingering sense of disappointment means this book is for you. Are you an avid photographer who's happy with the results you've been getting with film and now want to "make the leap to digital"? This book is for you. Are you a student of photography looking to supplement your dry textbooks with a perky tome written by guys who have learned their lessons the hard way (by making mistakes) and who are willing to tell you the truth? This book is for you. Are you a professional shooter who suspects that the quality of digital photography has finally overtaken film but can't quite bring yourself to believe it? There are big chunks of this book that are for you, too.
How Is This Book Organized?We've organized this book into four sections plus an appendix. The organizational scheme traces the chronology of making an photograph. The first section teaches you how to capture a great image. It contains the following chapters: The second section addresses the thorny problems that managing color creates for digital photographers.
What's Unusual About This Book?This book--like the other books in the Spring Into series--provides the following eccentricities:
We assume that you are a very busy person for whom the time spent in the very act ofbuying this book was excruciatingly painful. To repay that incalculable opportunity cost,we've adopted the chunk-style of presenting information so that you can learn as rapidly as possible. Finally, we hope you'll find this book fun to read and the photographs a joy to behold. If you've paid good money for a book--no matter what the topic--boring text and ugly pictures are a slap in the face.
Where Can You Find Online Information About Topics in This Book?This book will also have a companion web site:
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